Persona 5: Want emancipation?
by AlgebraFalcon
Summary: An entirely new cast of characters. A completely different setting in the suburbs of New York. A terrifying psychological antagonist who calls himself "The Renaissance Man". You are a slave. Want emancipation?
1. Part 1, Chapter 1

**PART ONE: NON-CONTRADICTION  
**"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it's yours."**  
**

-Ayn Rand, _Atlas Shrugged_

"... And upon the desolate earth, Galt traced the sign of the dollar. Well."

I hear the sound of a book being tossed mercilessly aside, landing with a rather large _thump_ on the floor.

"... Wasn't that beautiful. The... Six hundreth and seventy... seventh, no, eighth time I've read this. Would be great if I had something else to read."

My eyes are open, but I can't see anything. I'm sitting on my chair, and it rumbles back and forth, as if I was in the car of a subway. In fact, that is exactly how it feels. The high, cracked voice of an old man and slow rocking of the subway car are the only things that occupy this lucid, lifelike dream.

Suddenly, a flash of light from a broken bulb above the terrifying man in front of me. The subway car is covered in ripped blue velvet. The man is hunched over, with a tight black coat, tufts of white hair clutching to the tops of his small ears, and a sharp, long nose.

"Oh, my, introductions, introductions... My name is Igor. Introductions were so much more fun when Margret was here, but, you know, who is John Galt?"

"What?" I manage to mumble.

The light above him flickers out. The subway car shudders.

Igor sighs. "You bore me. The earlier ones were more exciting. Well, onto tarots then..."

What does this guy want with me?

"The star, the moon, the tower... All in the upright position, the hanged man, death, and our... no, your own friend, right in front of you... Judgement. I am judgement, I am probably the most powerful being in this world, although there are no more people in this world, now that the sisters are gone, and you, oh you, I am more powerful than you... For being the most powerful being in this world, what does that mean to me? What does that mean to you? It is something I keep telling myself to keep myself content in this little car. If I were to go into your world-"

Igor stops himself and smiles at me as the bulb flashes once more.

"I shouldn't get too ahead of myself. I'll see you in due time... Just one more thing."

I don't respond.

"If I were to give you the power to rule the world, would you do it? That is, per se, _rule_ the world?"

"No." I say, but I don't know why I answered. I personally don't care about this man or this dream. It will mean nothing when I wake up.

"Wrong answer. Everyone wants to rule the world, just for different reasons. Well, not everyone. But those who do not want to rule are boring. They will become slaves to those who do rule."

I shake my head, but I don't think Igor sees me. The car is still pitch black.

"You are a slave, Adam Goldberg. A slave to the rulers, the John Galts, of society. You are a slave. Want emancipation?"

I don't see Igor lean in close to me, but I feel his hot breath on my face.

"Want. Emancipation?"

In a final flash of light, the old man's smile and crazed, wide-open smile are revealed.

With baggy, groggy eyes, I awake to the real world.


	2. Part 1, Chapter 2

"_Make sure you no hurt nobody, I say, hey, hey HEY!"_

"You like the song?"

"Huh?" I snap to reality. A phone is held close to my ear, speakers near touching.

"I'm here busting my ass, risking getting caught with a phone in school, to show you this awesome song… Do you even like it?" The smiling face of Frederick Yephyrdelli turns to me, and then back to his tray. He spoons another forkful of wormy noodles into his mouth.

"Oh, yeah. It's good I guess, Frederick."

"It's Fred. Sandy. You've heard this, right?"

"Lotus Juice. Japanese rapper." She doesn't even look up.

Sandy is a small chubby caucasian girl with a dismissive personality, dyed hair and what Frederick describes as "A wide variety of anime shirts". Frederick is, turning to me yet again, an averagely-built Italian acne-ridden 14 year old who has a passion for video games, music… Media in general.

I don't know how I made friends with these people. I had my one chance on the first day of school, and this kind of group? They are nice, I guess. Looking to my left, I see a small Vietnamese girl, Hannah Nguyen, known to Fred as "Nails" for her constant biting of them. Sandy mutters something about how she hasn't said a word since the fourth grade, and I shouldn't try to get her to say anything.

"Oh wait. Sandy. Nails. New kid."

"Adam."

"Adam. Have you seen the arcade?"

"No, I just moved here."

Fred continues. "Most arcades now are modernized, with the all the trash of the console market dumped into coin-grabbing machines, but this one, Amber Coin Laundry-"

"What? A laundry place-"

"_Used _to be a laundry place. The guy who runs it is so hipster he didn't change the name when he took over."

I sigh.

"Do you want to go? You see, this arcade has tons of old stuff… Paperboy, pacman, space raiders… It's the bomb."

"What about coins?"

Fred smiles. "My dad runs a sandwich shop. Now, every night, I take three- no, now I'll have to take four, quarters from the register-"

"Isn't that stealing?"

Sandy and Fred laugh. Nails manages a smile.

"-and we all go there and play a single game. It's not that far, so we just walk there after school, play our one game, and go along with our lives. The guy there enjoys our business, and it's probably all he gets. I don't know how he keeps the business going, but I love the place."

Frederick holds out three quarters.

"Now, I'll give you mine for this time. Us three, that is, Sandy, Nails, and I, have been doing this since the beginning of middle school. We've mastered the art of milking that one coin. It's just a fun little thing to keep us going through school. So what do you say, are you in?"

I consider it for a bit.

Are these my friends? Will these be the crowd I hang around with for the whole year?

"...Sure."


	3. Part 1, Chapter 3

A bell taped to the top of the door chimes faintly as Fred, Sandy, Nails and I step through the threshold. A man lounges in a sofa with a counter separating him from us. His long, straw-blonde hair messily covers his face.

He mumbles something and takes a long draw from a pipe.

"Is that… Cannabis?"

"Adam! No, it's not, it's just-" Frank stumbles.

"It's called _weed_, kid." Says the manager. "But that's not what I'm smokin-" He coughs, his body racked with each outburst. "Jerry… That's my name. You're new, I can tell."

The place is surprisingly tidy, with each arcade cabinet the exact distance away from each other and arranged in ornate patterns.

On the contrary, holes in the wall where water feeding into the washing machines are obvious, most of them covered up by the cabinets themselves.

Each spotless arcade cabinet calls out to me in a pixel-infused orchestra as I walk down, searching for the one cabinet to spend my quarter on. Fred hovers behind me, telling me which ones he knows how to exploit, which ones he got the high score on…

Sandy has already leaped onto "_Galaga"_ blasting away at the enemy ships with zero flaw.

"Oh yeah." Jerry groggily gets up, yawning. "We got a new game."

Nails and Fred gasp. Sandy turns away from Galaga, cursing at the lack of a pause button.

Jerry leads us to the back of the shop, where a green-black modern-looking cabinet sits, lounging, demanding to be played. "_Polybius_" is spelled out in capital letters on the title bar.

"Got this online. Paid a hefty price, but we haven't got a new cabinet since… The store started. Never have I seen such a well-designed modern-looking game still keeping that retro feel. In fact, this game was designed back in the 80s. You guys wanna be the first people to try this out?"

"You can do the honors." Sandy appears behind me, having abandoned the _Galaga_ cabinet. This must be important for them.

Jerry appears from the back of the cabinet, having just plugged it in.

"_POLYBIUS._

_START GAME_"

The screen reads.

Feeling as if it were a surreal ritual, I slide the coin into the slot.

Everything in my vision jumps to black, as if my eyes were turned off like a screen.

In fact, I feel as if I'm in a different world. I no longer clutch the joystick and buttons. There's nothing. It's cold, but not chilly.

"_-SLavE PRoGram InItiAlIZEd{_scan document_}_

_Booting SLavE PRoGram_

_{345343} [23-47%]_

_An error has occured. Error 47_

_Attempting reboot-"_

Before I can grasp what's going on, code appears before me.

The code is replaced quickly with the silhouette of a man with the head of an elephant. Text in cursive font next to him, suspended in air, reads: "The Renaissance Man".

The text quickly disappears.

This seems quite like a joke. But I'm not laughing.

A frustrated sigh, changing in pitch, overloads my ears.

"You are a slave." The Renaissance Man says, clearly through a voice filter. "Want emancipation?"


	4. Part 1, Chapter 4

I am so surprised at what the man says that I fall backward on my bottom. The sheer absurdity of the situation finally hits me. Is this normal? Is this part of the game? It can't be happening… Maybe it's one of those virtual reality things…

"This was supposed to work. Igor told me that the program would work as long as the subject is not a user of persona-"

"Wait, Igor? The guy in the dream?" I burst out. "He was talking about the same thing as you… Slaves, emancipation… He didn't seem to be evil-"

"Oh Igor?" The renaissance man answers. "He's not evil. He just enjoys watching things play out. He gives you the tools, sits back, and enjoys the show. In fact, judging by the fact that you know about him and the program didn't work, you probably have the power of persona."

The renaissance man growls. "Little prick. You know what, you don't even know how to use it, so…" He regains his composure. "Getting rid of you would be easy."

"Kyrkogrim." Says the Renaissance man, and pulls out a long butterfly knife with "Awakener" written in fancy cursive writing. He brings it to his wrist.

I stand up in order to take a few steps back. What is he doing?

He slides the knife quickly through his wrist and doesn't even flinch. Blood spurts and begins to fall, but then turns light blue. The blood flies up in a cyclone, eventually dispersing, revealing a cloaked figure with the head of a lamb with no features on it's face. Peach, soft, human hands reach out from the sleeves of the shroud.

Kyrkogrim grabs the sides of it's cloak, ripping it apart. Below the cloak is the… universe.

Stars can be seen along with planets and distant galaxies. In the middle is it's heart, a pulsing mass of black ivory.

Fire suddenly begins to pour out of kyrkogrim.

My face begins to boil as the fire closes the distance.

Everything seems to be happening in slow motion. The fire is so hot, so extraordinarily hot, that blisters appear on my forehead and pop as soon as they appeared. Blood begins to run down my face.

But that blood turns light blue.

"_Noah._" I say, but the voice isn't mine.

"_I art thou, and thou art I…"_

The fire parts in front of me. I can hear the renaissance man gawk over the roar of the flames.

"_Thou is Noah, father of the ark… Messiah of good through the chaos…"_

I am absolutely bewildered. This… Everything that happened in the last minute is beyond my comprehension.

Noah sweeps his hand, and kyrkogrim is swept off of his feet, causing The Renaissance Man to cradle his elephant head in pain and the entire world around us to change into bits of code, scrambling to keep everything in order.

The blackness around us quickly changes back as The Renaissance Man regains his composure. He brings the knife to his wrist.

"Little shit… This time… This time you will die."

But just like as it started, the entire world again goes completely black.


	5. Part 1, Chapter 5

My eyes are wide open, having not blinked through the entire ordeal. Tears are rivering down my unblinking eyes. My sweaty hands still clutch the joystick and buttons.

Jerry appears from behind the cabinet. "It started glitching out, so I thought a bootup was in order. That's kinda weird… It worked fine and was so extremely fun when I tested it out…"

"Hey." Says Fred. "I thought Adam was the first person to test it out."

"Well, I wanted to know if I got my money's worth. It's advertised that the game is "Whatever you want it to be". Uses temperature readings or something I guess… Sorta like a mood ring."

I'm absolutely speechless. Should I tell them about what happened in the game? Or would they think I'm crazy?

I open my mouth when Igor's voice suddenly erupts into my ears.

"Don't tell them about it. Do not try to stop the machine. The game is the only way for you to stop total enslavement. You must defeat the Renaissance Man." His high, cracked voice echoes, speaking in short outbursts.

I clench my fist. Should I believe Igor?

"Nails. I already used my coin, let's play… together. Jerry, do you think it would create a game exactly what both of us would want?" Sandy asks.

"I dunno. I still kinda doubt it's power. But who knows."

"Okay, let's do what we do in co-op galaga. I'll control the joystick and A, you control B and C…"

"Hey!" Yells Fred. "I wanna be in this too. I wonder what the game will be like if all three of us…"

"I wouldn't believe it." Sandy remarks, grabbing the coin from Nails and sliding it in. "Each of us will hold one b-"

The screen lights up, scrolling down pieces of code at lightspeed.

Fred's eyes are wide open, and so are Sandy's. Nails's jaw drops.

Do they see the Renaissance Man? Are they defenseless against them? If the Renaissance Man kills them in there, will they die in the real world?

I have something… That "Noah" that came out of my blood. Could I save them?

How do I get into the game? How can I save them?

Dozens of questions race through my head.

Code is still running down the screen, and Frank begins to sweat.

I bite my tongue and touch the joystick, hoping it will bring me to the Renaissance Man and my friends.

_SLavE pRoGRaM INItiAlizEd_

_Booting up SLavE pRoGraM…_

_Fool Magician Hanged Man Moon_

_Component recognition completed. Booting up…_

_Scan{document 9} _

_Error_

_[-No emancipation890987-]_

_Error found: Overload_

_Error found: Bus error 13_

_Shutting do-_

To my side is a terrified Fred, speechless Sandy, and a Nails that mutters something that might be a word.

To my front is a chuckling Renaissance Man with a model of the world in his hands.

"The question isn't who is going to let me, it's who is going to stop me." Says The Renaissance Man, crushing the model of the earth in his fingers. "I am the true Atlas."


	6. Part 1, Chapter 6

I hear nothing but the shattering of the glass pieces of the model earth as they hit the solid ground. The Renaissance Man closes the distance between us and him.

"So you're all persona users, yes?" It is impossible to see any expression in the small elephant eyes of the renaissance man. His face isn't exactly like an elephant's, too, it seems smaller, with a far smaller trunk and smaller tusks, in order to mock what considers a face human. "The man who runs the establishment in which you have contacted me is the only way you can stop me now. I forgot to take control of him before, but I just realized… He played the game. He is my slave now. I can control him to do whatever I like."

Frank chokes on his own tears. Terror is in his eyes. "It's a nightmare… It's a nightmare…"

"Here… Let me prove it to you." The renaissance man pulls back the cuff of his suit arm to reveal an ornate watch. "Let's see… In exactly 12:00 A.M tomorrow, on August 30th, Jerry Scielznek will take his pistol from his desk in his apartment, go to Nova Heights high school and shoot student Terry Liesel dead with three shots to the back. Oh, how I wish I could include you persona users in such affairs, but like enslavement, the cabinet will not permit that… He will then kill himself with the same pistol. Oh, and our Jerry will not take any action against Polybius."

"I know Terry." Sandy whimpers under her breath.

"Don't worry." Says the Renaissance Man. "You won't live to see the poor child die. I'll also make Jerry sign off only the Polybius game to a more popular arcade near here so the enslavement will continue."

"How… Why…" Nails mumbles between munches on her fingers. Her mouth remains stone but her eyes show massive horror.

"You don't know yet, little girl? Anyone who plays the game is under my control. I don't even have to waste time controlling them myself… I just have to think about it and they do whatever I want. Enslavement. Total enslavement." The Renaissance Man rubs his chin with one hand and pulls out the "Awakener" knife from under his suit with the other. "You know what, I want to see what you kids can do." He chuckles. "I'll tell you this- I am someone outside the game, controlling this. Killing me in the outside world is the only way to truly kill me. I cannot die in here. I can most definitely be hurt, but I am immortal in this world. Then again; you are not. If you die in this world you will drop dead on the outside of a heart attack. You actually have a chance, if you think about it. Just find me on the outside and kill me. But crushed hope is the best kind of fear, and I truly enjoy instilling it."

The Renaissance Man slides the knife along his wrist, and although it's hard to see, a small sliver of a smile distinguishes itself on his elephant mouth.

Kyrkogrimen erupts from the blood of the fear-loving man, speechless, alert, judging… Ready.

I look down at my hands, and clutched in one is a long, sharp, yet simple knife with "Awakener" written in fancy cursive.

I smile too.


	7. Part 1, Chapter 7

**To apologize for the lack of a consistent every-other day chapter a few days ago, I will give you an extra one today. Enjoy :)**

* * *

I stab the knife into my palm, expecting to feel no pain, judging from the Renaissance Man's reaction.

Boy, do I feel it.

Blood erupts from the wound, turning light blue on it's way up and cycloning into an entrance for Noah.

Noah fires several blasts of wind at Kyrkogrim, who stands unflinchingly. The monster is now prepared for the assault.

"Mudo." Says the Renaissance Man, and Kyrkogrim follows his command, tearing open his robe.

A circle with a star inside emerges from the space inside Kyrkogrim. As it approaches, it suddenly becomes extremely cold, in the next moment the area around me becomes exceedingly hot.

I get my bearings and dive to the side. The circle was not that hard to dodge, in fact, it was quite slow moving, but who knows what would've happened if that had hit me.

I definitely can't face the Renaissance Man alone. He did say that we all had this power…

I look to my side, as my bewildered friends sit dumbfounded.

Not really knowing what to do, I throw the knife at them, saying: "Cut yourselves." and then diving out of the way of another mudo.

I glance to my side. Nails has picked up the knife and poked her finger.

She falls back, aghast, as her blood cyclones upward.

"Le Loi." Says Nails, but the voice belongs to someone else.

From the clyclone emerges a skinny Viatnamese-looking man who stands at an extraordinary 20 feet tall. In his hands lay a shining sword.

The sword becomes absorbed in flame as Le Loi swings down at Krykogrim. Kyrkogrim holds up it's docile white fingers over it's head to shield itself and the sword burns a line in the soft flesh of it's palm.

The Renaissance Man shrieks, clutching his hands.

Fred, surprised out of his mind, makes a slit in his arm and quickly passes the knife to Sandy, who does the same.

A pair of cyclones burst upward.

"Gubbio." "Nemesis." Say Fred and Sandy respectively.

A giant wolf with blood at his teeth appears next to Fred, and an psychotically joyous robed man with puppet strings stitched to his hands materializes at Sandy's side.

Gubbio bites down onto Kyrkogrim's arm, who unleashes a blast of flame into Gubbio's muzzle in return.

Fred cradles his contorted face in pain. Le Loi uses the opportunity to deliver a crushing sideswipe to Kyrkogrim's neck.

Now, this would decapitate any normal person… Or thing, for that matter.

Kyrkogrim simply stares at Le Loi, challenging him. The Renaissance Man is on the ground, choking and holding his neck.

The entire space around us breaks into code. A hole about 10 feet in diameter appears for a second to my left, showing the arcade outside, but then disappears. The entire place is based on the consciousness of the Renaissance Man.

"Hurt him again!" I scream. "We can jump through the hole!"

Nemesis suddenly waves his puppet strings around. I don't know what he did until I see that Gubbio has doubled in size.

Gubbio rushes towards Kyrkogrim, knocking the demon off of it's feet. He quickly bites down on the featureless lamb face of Kyrkogrim.

A hole appears about fifteen feet away as The Renaissance Man yells in pain.

Fred realizes it and jumps through, Sandy following him. Nails is closely behind me as I dash towards the hole.

"I AM NOT A VILLAIN!" Roars the Renaissance Man behind me. "I AM A SAVIOR. I WILL CONTROL PEOPLE WITH POWER AND MAKE MY UTOPIA. THE RENAISSANCE WILL START AGAIN, RULED BY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO CONTROL…"

I take Nails's hand and jump through the hole just as it closes, pulling Nails through behind me.

In the real world, I open my eyes, my finger still on the joystick.


	8. Part 1, Chapter 8

I let out a long, heaving, sigh, letting out all the tension from the battle.

Fred holds his forehead and leans back on an arcade cabinet. "Was that all a dream?"

Sandy crumples next to the wall and weeps. Nails walks over to her and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Never… Going back in there… Again…" Sandy sobs. "Get the police involved. Terry can't just be dead tomorrow…"

"No, it won't happen." Says Fred. "Science has no explanation for Mr. Renaissance to actually control-"

"Science? Like being transported inside a game, having some… Greek god come out of your blood… And having a man with an elephant's face slit his wrist in order to summon a demon who has the universe under it's robe?"

"I dunno who this 'Gubbio' is…" Says Fred.

"I think 'Noah' is from the bible…"

"Never mind!" Yells Sandy. "I still can't get how you guys can be composed after seeing that."

"Sandy, calm down. You know what, it was probably all a dream. Or heck, one of those Oculus-shenanigans… Virtual reality things. All just part of the game." Fred sighs and massages his temples. "Yeah, that's probably right. We all just need a good night's sleep. Rest it off. Terry won't die tomorrow, not on my watch. After all, we can just warn him, right?"

Sandy takes a deep breath in, nods, and manages a smile.

"Okay, see ya guys tomorrow." Fred says with a wave of his hand, turning towards the front door. "Don't worry about… What happened today too much."

Immediately after turning around, Fred bumps into Jerry, who is intent on staring at the back wallpaper, whispering words under his breath in quick succession. I mentally scold myself for letting Fred and Sandy scream about inside Polybius in front of Jerry. We must've looked crazy, talking about stuff like that.

"Oh, sorry Jerry."

Jerry snaps into realization. "Oh, yeah. Just lost in thought."

I walk out with Fred, staring behind at Jerry, who hasn't moved an inch. Sandy pulls Nails alongside her, eager to get out of the arcade.

…

I throw down my backpack at the front door of my house, kicking off my shoes and looking around frantically for a place to crash. I am absolutely exhausted.

"So, how's your first day of high school?" Says my mom happily, upbeat until her eyes rest on the backpack and shoes dumped next to the front door. "Did you make new friends? Do you like all your teachers?"

I pass my older brother, Dave, a skinny 17-year old with a face ridden with acne, sprawled out on the couch with my father next to him watching a game of football. I don't really care for the sports, the only really sports I play myself are the ones in gym, where I don't really stick out. Then again, it's not my thing.

As I get in my room, my hands clasp the flip-top on my mom's hand-me-down ancient laptop, eager to know what this "Kyrkogrim" thing is.

Halfway through guessing how to spell the thing in google, I get a text from Sandy. Before lunch, I had made the rash decision to give all of the three my number.

"Are you sure Terry won't die?" Reads the text, lacking the usual word-shortenings of a stereotypical message.

I hesitate for a few seconds, staring at the words. I shudder.

With shaking hands, I manage to text out: "I'm sure" when a tear forms on my eye. Away from the eyes of anyone else, I let my true feelings out. I stop using a persona and be my true self.

A weakling.

The Renaissance Man doesn't lie, he is not that kind of person at all.

But I will make a little white lie of myself. To keep Sandy okay until 12:00 tomorrow.

Tears streaming down my cheeks, I turn off my light and softly cry myself to sleep as the person who I really am.


	9. Part 1, Chapter 9

11:50. My eyes are glued to the clock. Looking to my side, I see Sandy, her hands are clasped together in a silent prayer. She already told me how it's going to go. At 11:55, she will ask for a bathroom break and stand next to the entrance of Terry's class, watching for Jerry. If Terry tries to get out of class, Sandy will use whatever means possible to get him back inside the class where she can protect him. Her idea is that since The Renaissance Man can't include persona-users in acts of control, Jerry cannot push her away from the entrance of the classroom.

Smart girl. But she can't change fate.

What am I thinking? I should be hoping for her, this is a human life we are talking about… Do I really want to think like the Renaissance Man?

My mind begins an internal argument, truth against sympathy, when I hear something unusual.

"Time." Says Igor, and I look up, bewildered.

He's sitting on the teacher's desk, nonchalantly flicking at his pocketwatch. Nobody else in the classroom seems to see or hear him.

"You can't escape time, it delivers us all to the same end. You can't close your eyes and cover your ears."

I look up at Igor with a bored expression, not wanting to say: "I know" outloud.

Wait, am I bored, or worried?

"Time and fate are intertwined; time, the play-time of someone's life, and fate; the scripted-events that must happen in order for the player to continue." Igor laughs. "It's almost like a game… Isn't it?"

I nod very slightly, worried about my sanity at this point.

_Tick._ 11:55.

Sandy shoots up in her chair. "Mrs. Cici?"

"Yes?"

"Can I use the restroom?"

"I don't know, can you?'

Sandy gives a brief smile. "May I?"

"Yes, you may. Make sure to sign out."

Igor flashes me a wide, toothy smile. "This girl must care a lot about this 'Terry' child."

"I know." I say silently to myself. Most people would think it was part of the game or a silly dream, but Sandy is willing to go to such lengths…

It is human instincts, thinking about it. Sandy must really believe the Renaissance Man then…

_Tick._ 11:56.

In 4 minutes, will Terry and Jerry be dead?

Terry and Jerry. Huh. Sounds like the name of a Saturday morning cartoon.

In the next moment I nearly slap myself. Why would I ever think something like that? They both could die today, and that's my concern?

Something is wrong with me. This is all getting to my head.

_Tick. _11:57.

I flex my fingers and ball them up again, repeating the motion two times.

Do I have bipolar disorder? Right before I went to bed yesterday I turned into an emotional wreck. Now my mind is arguing with itself...

No, it's probably just stress. This is way too much for a normal 14-year old to be worrying about.

_Tick. _11:58.

I just need to relax. Sandy's going to prevent it from happening, if it even happens at all. Maybe this is all an elaborate prank or something…

"Adam?"

My head shoots up. The entire class eyes are fixed on me, and it looks like they have been for awhile.

"You seem like you're in another world." Says the teacher, holding out a dry-erase marker. "Could you do example number 2 for us?"

I take a deep breath in. "Sure."

As I walk up to the board in a trance, my gaze drifts up to the clock.

_Tick. _11:59.

Igor lets out a hearty laugh. I try to ignore him.

My hands fumble to work out the rule of the arithmetic sequence.

My eyes begin to water, and I blink rapidly to disperse the tears. Dammit, it's happening again.

"Calm down." I say softly to myself as I fumble my way back to my desk, having finished the problem.

I look up at the clock. Fifteen seconds until 12:00.

My nails are pressed up so tightly against my palm that my hand begins to bleed. A few drops fall onto the desk; little red moons.

"Ten." Begins Igor. "Nine, eight, seven…"  
"Terry won't die." I softly reassure myself.

"...Six, five, four…"

"Terry won't die, Terry won't die." A steady stream of blood falls from my palm. "Terry won't die."

"Three, two, one…"

"Terrywon'tdieTerrywon'tdieTerrywon'tdie"

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion." Interrupts Igor, pulling up his pocket watch. "Oh, and… zero."

Three loud gunshots break the classroom noises with a hatchet.

A pause. And then another gunshot.

Revibrations of the shot mix with the wails of a distraught specific young girl to form a soundtrack from hell.

"Lockdown!" Screams the teacher, springing into action. "Under your desks!"

Whimpers and scared whisperings ensue as everyone does as they are told.

I walk briskly up towards the door. My hand rests on the handle.

"Adam!" Yells the teacher. "What in the- what are you doing!"

I throw open the door, closing it in the teacher's dumbfounded face.

My eyes focus on Sandy, hunched over the body of a boy that could not be any older than me and a Jerry with a hole in his head. Jerry has no gun; instead, the gun is being held in Sandy's hands, placed right on the side of her head.


	10. Part 1, Chapter 10

"You… You COWARD!" I yell, taking the largest strides I have ever taken in my life and ripping the gun out of her hands.

Realizing what I just said, I crumple against the locker behind me and eject the magazine out of the gun. I toss the pistol and magazine as far as possible down the hallway, placing my hand on Sandy's shoulder.

"I… Didn't mean to say that. I don't know what got into me." I manage.

Sandy wails, choking on her own tears. She makes a few attempts at a crawl to the gun down the hallway. Her handprints are imprinted into the linoleum on the pool of blood.

"Every form of happiness if one, every desire is driven by the same motor-by our love for a single value, for the highest potentiality of our own existence-and every achievement is an expression of it." Says Igor, stepping over the body of Terry. "Now, I want you to ask yourself a question, Adam… Are you truly happy now? Have you found your desire?"

"HAPPY!?" I roar at Igor, not caring how unstable I look. "A KID IS FUCKING DEAD, AND YOU THINK I'M GOING TO BE HAPPY?"

I push Igor against a locker, wanting nothing more than to kill him. I clasp my hands around his neck.

"You… You little shit. You want to know my true desire? What would make me happy? For you to die. You are the source of all the problems, Igor."

"You don't get it, do you." Says the velvet-suited man, completely unflinched. Any normal person's neck would've completely collapsed on itself by now. Igor shakes his head, pitying me. "I didn't really know what to expect."

The next moment there is no neck between my hands. Igor is completely gone.

I collapse on the ground, a different self. I hold my head in my hands. Sandy lets loose an ear shattering scream.

And upon that afternoon, two children descended into madness on the blood-stained floor of Nova Heights High School.

…

Everyone student was silent as cars sped into the parking lot to pick them up. There were hugs and tears shed, accompanied by an orchestra of the wails of police car sirens and ambulance screeches.

With most school shootings, you see the parents of the victims hugging together, crying.

But with this there was just Terry's mom. Her car was one of the first to arrive, and she stood next to it, waiting for Terry to come to her.

A police officer had approached her earlier and whispered something into her ear. Her expression had not changed, she simply just stared forward, as she did before.

"Adam." Says my dad, relieved. He tugs on my shoulder. "Thank god…"  
My gaze remains firm on Terry's mom.

My hands ball up into fists.

I will kill you, Renaissance Man. Slowly.

And I will enjoy it.

**END OF PART ONE**


	11. Part 2, Chapter 11

**PART TWO: MOTOR OF THE WORLD**

"Happiness is a state of non contradictory joy–a joy without penalty or guilt, a joy that does not clash with any of your values and does not work for your own destruction..."

-John Galt, Atlas Shrugged

"Welcome to the velvet room."

"Igor." My shoulders shake in anger.

I force open my eyes. I'm in the same subway car, with the ripped blue velvet covering everything and the windows showing only darkness outside. Igor is nowhere to be seen. Instead, sitting in front of me are two men, one, with a happy-faced mask and only a right arm, and the other being a man with a sad-faced mask and only a left arm.

Both of the men are wearing neatly-trimmed suits, with the left and right arms on each of them being brutally ripped off, blood staining the sides of each of the suits.

"I have people to talk to now." Says Igor, but he's nowhere to be seen. "Right-hand man shares my views on objectivism and John Galt as a character."

The man with a right arm beams, his mask seemingly getting a bit more joyous.

"Left-hand man, on the other hand…" Igor chuckles at his own pun. "Does not. In fact, he hates Atlas Shrugged."

Left-hand man sulks. Igor chuckles again.

A sudden electric shock sends left-hand man to spasm and cry out in muffled pain.

Igor laughs heartily.

I shoot up in bed, my face caked with sweat. My cellphone, placed next to my bed, is vibrating.

Sandy. I pick up.

"Hello?"

"Sorry, Adam… Sorry for calling you so late… I finally was able to compose myself." Sandy sniffles.

"Okay."

"I just wanted to tell you… Something that I kind of omitted before, 'cause I didn't want to say it in front of Fred and Nails."  
"Uh-huh."

"Terry, he is- was, my brother."

"What?" I feign surprise. The fact that Sandy's brother was Terry was my prime theory, after all, why would she be so broken as into attempt suicide? Even still, Terry approached me on the first day of school and told me to 'be wary of his sis'. Although, I didn't think it was that important at the time, not something that you need to hide from your two best friends...

I sigh. I'm definitely overanalyzed that.  
"My parents are divorced, when the day came, mom and dad decided to split us, dad would take me and mom would take Terry. Fred and Nails don't know this."

"Why would you tell me?"

"Because I trust you. Because you saved my life, back in the game. Because you share my values. I know you want to kill the Renaissance Man. Kill him. Fred and Nails are the kind of people who would want to imprison him or something. You and I- we want to kill him."

I pause for a second, mulling over what she just said. "That's true."

"Now, the Renaissance Man has to be someone who would know Terry's name. Somebody in the suburbs of Brooklyn, probably." Sandy theorizes. "And he would be an even bigger suspect if he knew that I was related to Terry, as he would try to scar me by killing him. Although, this isn't necessary. It was just to show us what he can do, and maybe he didn't know if Terry is related to me."

"Let's not rule out the fact that the Renaissance Man is lying. He could just be someone in the game, only in the game, and he's tricking us by sending us on a wild goose chase. This would mean he would be undefeatable."

"But then again, Nyx was undefeatable…"

I put the phone down and whip my gaze towards the source of the voice. Igor. Sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Who the hell is Nyx!?" I hiss at Igor, covering the phone speaker, but there's nothing there.

"Sorry about that." I mutter.  
"What about if the Renaissance Man saying "He's undefeatable" is a lie in itself?" Questions Sandy.

I run my hands through my hair. "We need more information." I admit, rubbing my temples. "Which would mean that we have to go back into polybius."

I hear Sandy sigh on the other end of the line.

"You and me, together, Adam. We will kill the Renaissance Man, no matter what the cost."

Sandy hangs up.


	12. Part 2, Chapter 12

"I art thou, and thou art I…"

I turn around at the source of Igor's voice. He's on my bed again. Although I have no energy to be angry at him, my teeth grit with distaste.

"Thou has established a new bond…"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Thou shall receive a bonus when fusing personas of the Hanged Man arcana…"

"Shut up." I pout, laying down on my bed.

"Social links." Says Igor. "Incredibly useful, you should try spending more time with-"

I put my pillow over my face.

"If you go to sleep, you'll just see me again…" Igor says, but my eyes are already closed.

My eyes open and I immediately shiver, as the air around me is extremely cold. I look around. Blackness- no, space. Stars, distant galaxies, and in front of me, the earth itself.

I'm sitting on a chair in front of a table. Two other chairs are occupied by Right-hand man and Left-hand man, and each has a cup of tea in their hand. The table is suspended in gravity, sitting still with the earth as our backdrop.

"Left, what is the… Motor of the earth?" Says Right-hand man, his voice deep and coarse. "What keeps earth, society, moving? If we're all going to die someday… Why would humans ever live their life?"

"Happiness." Says Left-hand man, his squeaky voice barely comprehensible. "Happiness is what makes the world go round. Humans are born, take up as many resources as possible, and then die, waiting for the next person in line to worry about it. But that's what makes them happy, and I applaud them for it."

"Happiness…" Replies Right-hand man. "Hmm. Adam, what makes you happy?"

I bite my lip. Do I really need to reply to them?

"Justice." I answer. "Justice makes me ha-"

I am interrupted by the bursting laughter of Right-hand man.

"You know." He giggles. "Justice is a very subjective term. In fact, people with a psychotic background use it as an excuse-"

"Idiot." Scolds Left-hand man. "Adam here is no psychopath. He has a very pure sense of justice. Just you wait, right-hand man. We'll see how his story goes."

"Interesting." Right-hand man folds his arm. "I'll tell you what- I will bet you a dollar that Adam's story will end with him losing his sanity."

"Hah." Scoffs Left-hand man. "Deal. And, on the earth, the winner will trace the sign of a dollar, right?"

"Of course. It's not like we could spend an actual dollar."

The two indulge in a short laugh. My entire view begins to fade to black.

"Adam."

"Huh?" I shoot up in bed.

"You don't have school today." My brother, Dave, sits in the chair at my study desk. "You know, because of the-"

"Yeah." I lay back down, running my hands through my hair.

"Anyway, mom made us breakfast. Come down whenever you want- I just came to tell you."

Dave exits the room, closing the door behind him.

Never have I seen my brother treat me with such kindness. Tragedies change people, and not just the ones involved.

I lay back down.

…

"Sandy?" Says Fred. "How did you convince your mom that you were stable enough-"

"Because I am stable." Dismisses Sandy. "I am stable because of the reassurance of one fact: I can kill the Renaissance Man."  
Nails stares at Sandy with wide, scared eyes.

"Anyways." Fred says. "We must not let Terry's death be simply blamed on Jerry. The police are making up stuff, saying he was 'emotionally unstable'... Bullshit. We need to get back into Polybius and find the Renaissance Man, and bring him to justice."

"Before anything else like this can happen." I say.

We stand in front of Amber Coin laundry, watching police carry the arcade cabinets out and load them into a truck.

"Surely they're not taking Polybius away…" Mutters Fred.

"But wouldn't that be a good thing?" Says Sandy. "He couldn't enslave any more people…"

"But that's only if this is the only Polybius machine in existence and if the machines are going to be destroyed and not sold off to another arcade." I say. "Plus, he would still live on. We need to eliminate him."  
"Now." Says Sandy. "Who's going ask the police officers what they're doing with Polybius."

"I will." I volunteer, walking up to the officer carrying Pac-Man out of the building.

"Excuse me… Sir. Where are these arcade machines going?"

The officer puts down the machine and rubs his brow. "I dunno, kid… Probably getting sold off, maybe they'll end up in a landfill… Who knows. I only really know where one machine's goin…"

"Which one?" I quickly ask.

"One of the machines that the guy owned was really really rare, according to this one guy, like, only one in existence. The guy was the manager of this one chain, Dave and Buster's…"

I mentally say every swear I know. Dave and Buster's is probably the most popular arcade in the area, like a bigger and more extravagant Chuck E. Cheese's. You can't go there any day of the week without there being at least a hundred people.

"But wouldn't a place like that not take up a game this… Retro?"

"Look, kid…" The officer chuckles. "I don't know nuthin' about this arcade stuff. Hell, I shouldn't even be talkin' to ya'. You're better off talkin' to the manager."

"Th-thanks." I stutter, walking back to the group.

"We're going to Dave and Buster's."


	13. Part 2, Chapter 13

Fred stomps on the ground. "Are you kidding me?!"

"Shut up!" Hisses Sandy. "The police are looking at you like they might arrest you."

"At least 50 people are there at all times, all days of the week, at least. I'd say on weekends, 500 people go in and out of there. That's a lot of people, compared to Amber Coin, which we were the only customers there." I say.

"Shit." Grumbles Fred. "How many people do you think are gonna play the game?"

"I dunno. The manager selected it personally to be taken from Amber Coin, so he must really like it. I wouldn't be surprised if he uses tons of advertising to help ease it in with the bunch of modern games. Even then, even with the game being "whatever you want it to be", I doubt it's going to be played as much as the big-hitters there."

Nails brings her hand to her mouth. "Well, we're not gaining anything by standing here." She whispers.

Fred spins around. Sandy grabs Nails's shoulders and looks into her eyes.

"Nails. Did you just…"  
"Yes." Mutters Nails. "Yes." She tries again, louder, testing out her voice. "And don't call me Nails. Call me Kim."

"I thought your real name is Hannah…" Says Fred.

"When I was born in Vietnam, that was my name. I changed it because I thought it was too Vietnamese."

I cover Fred's mouth before he says what everybody is thinking.

Sandy says it for him. "Kim is a perfectly acceptable english name…"

Kim rolls her eyes. "Let's get this Renaissance Man. Then we can talk about my name."

…

"You got the quarters?" I ask Fred.

"Well, they're not quarters, they're 'coins'. And, unfortunately, you couldn't buy just one. The smallest package was 25 for 10 bucks. We're gonna go broke if this continues." Fred sighs, holding up a coin with the _Dave and Buster's_ logo on it. "Here it is."

"What matters more, going broke or saving the world?" Asks Kim.

"Then where are we going to get the money from, Nail- Kim?"

"Just everybody shut up." I push Fred and Kim away from the Polybius cabinet, snatching the coin away from Fred, I kneel down, my hand getting closer to the slot.

"If we go in there, we will come face to face with the Renaissance Man. He will be ready this time. We… We might die." Sandy says, wiping the hair out of her face.

"That just hit you?" Kim asks.

"Just don't think about it." Fred says. "Close your eyes and cover your ears."

"All humans will die." I say, quoting Igor. "You can't- you can't close your eyes and cover your ears. You can try as hard as you can to extend your life, but fate is fate. And you can't change that."

"Adam, what are you-"

I slide the coin in, jumping up and placing my hands over my friends ones.

Sandy, Kim, and Fred stare at me, scared, while the game boots up.

Everything goes black.


	14. Part 2, Chapter 14

_SLavE pRoGRaM INItiAlizEd_

_Booting up SLavE pRoGraM…_

_Fool Magician Hanged Man Moon_

_Component recognition completed. Booting up…_

_79 current occupants_

_Scan{document 9} Scan{document 11}_

_Error_

_[-No emancipation890987-]_

_Error found: Overload_

_Error found: Bus error 13, 17, 96_

_Rebooting…_

"If I were to come up to you and say this, Adam Goldberg, if I were to tell you that you could change your very destiny, you could lengthen your life by dozens of years, would you believe me?" The Renaissance Man is in front of us, standing in the middle of a maze-like structure, paths to his left and right. "Because, I assure you… That statement is completely true. Adam, if you would just stop this worthless chase, you will survive."

"Don't waste your breath." I say, clasping my fingers over the awakener knife that materialized in my hand. I poke a hole into my thumb, and Noah appears in front of me.

The Renaissance Man chuckles.

Noah runs towards the Renaissance Man with an intent to tackle him. He flies towards the elephant-headed antagonist but goes through him as if nothing were there, crashing into a wall.

"Silly. You think that's the real me? Why would I go through all the trouble of making a labyrinth if I'm just going to let myself be hurt right here?" Teases the man.

"Labyrinth?" Frank says, looking around. "You gotta be kidding me…"

"Well, I have all these lost souls of people that are now controlled by me. They are sort of… Building blocks. Each soul is just enough to create a floor of my labyrinth, complete with shadows."  
"Shadows…?" Questions Kim.

Splashing noises and growls erupt from around the corner of the labyrinth.

"Now, children. I would love to stay, but… I only have one more thing to tell you. Do you know our vice president?"  
No responses.

"Well, he was kind of vacationing here this week."

I recall all the fuss the town made when Ethan Clayton, the vice president, vacationed in New York and stayed in a hotel here. He's been here for the past week, always surrounded by packs of picture-hungry onlookers.

"And, you know he has a daughter. That daughter, you know, went to _Dave and Buster's _today…"

I see Kim connect the dots.

"'Daddy, daddy!'" Mocks the Renaissance Man. "'You gotta check out this new game!"

"No…" Fred says under his breath.

The Renaissance Man snaps his fingers. "Easy as that. Now, all we have to do is get rid of the actual president…"

"You monster…" Sandy seethes.

"...Which shouldn't be a problem at all, as I just need someone who is vacationing to Washington D.C. and has a gun licence. Considering we're at 79 people already, this won't take long."

"I'll kill you before that." I clench my fists.

"Ooh… Of course you will." The Renaissance Man chuckles, his trunk bobbing up and down. "Well, I think it's time that I leave the stage..."

The Renaissance Man fades as the growls of the shadows get louder.

From around the corner zip two gelatinous masses with masks stuck inside of them. Gnarled, clawed hands erupt from the black goo.

"What in the-" Kim starts, pulling out her knife and slicing her hand.

Le Loi bursts out, whipping out his hands and bathing the area in front of him in flame.

When the smoke clears, nothing is even recognizable through the charcoal.

Kim coughs twice and collapses. Sandy rushes over to her as three more shadows appear from around the corner.

"Gubbio!" Fred yells, stabbing the knife into his thigh.

The bloodied dog rushes out towards the shadows, taking a chunk out of one and throwing it so hard at another that the mask snaps in half. He rams the last one into a wall and swallows it's ivory mask whole. Fred clutches his side.

"So using your persona too much makes you tired, huh…" Fred grunts.

"We have to find a way out." I say, sending Noah ahead to look for more shadows.

Turning the opposite corner from where the shadow's approached, I see a brilliant ornate staircase, complete with a golden handrailing. On the top of it is Jerry, a guitar in his hands and a bleeding hole in his head. I immediately stop and stare. This floor of the labyrinth was constructed from Jerry's consciousness, but isn't he dead?

"Oh-oh, yes I'm the great pretender-" Jerry sings, his voice surprisingly golden and consistent.

"Pretending that I'm doing well

My need is such I pretend too much

I'm lonely but no one can tell…"

Sandy, an unconscious Kim in her arms, stops and stares at the dead man.

"Christ…" Fred says, attempting to make his way up the stairs.

I have seen a subway car disattached from reality. I have sat for tea in space. I have witnessed a terrifying man who uses a game to enslave. But this has to be the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen.

"Oh-oh, yes I'm the great pretender-" Jerry starts the next set of lines as a weak smile makes itself visible on his face. He looks down at me and Fred.

"Adrift in a world of my own

I've played the game but to my real shame

You've left me to grieve all alone…"

"We… We need to leave." Sandy says, Kim stirring awake. "This… Doesn't feel right."

"Too real is this feeling of make-believe

Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal…"

Sandy is pushing on my back now, Kim being left behind to awake on her own. Fred looks at me uneasily.

Kim rushes up the stairs and turns the corner to the next floor, as agile as a cat. Sandy continues to push me as Fred attempts to walk up as far as possible away from Jerry.

I can only stop and stare.

"Yes, I'm the great pretender-" Jerry's smile stretches across his entire face.

"Just laughin' and gay like a clown

I seem to be what I'm not, you see

I'm wearing my heart like a crown

Pretending that you're still around…"

Sandy is hitting me now, fists slamming against my back. I'm entranced by the craziness of the situation, the will of the dead man.

Jerry pulls out a pistol from his belt, laughing joyously.

I begin to ascend for the next floor as Jerry's laughs turn into tears.

"He's already dead. He's already dead." Chants Sandy.

A pistol shot pierces my ears as Sandy weeps.

"He's already dead… He's already dead."


	15. Part 2, Chapter 15

"This is too much…" Cries Sandy. "I can't take it anymore."

"Sandy." Fred kneels down next to Sandy, pushing away her auburn hair from her wide cheeks. "We are up against a very scary man. I am not going to force you to fight him. But the world is at stake here; who knows what the Renaissance Man would do with enough power."

"Indeed, our lives are at stake." I say, looking ahead for shadows. "I can understand why you are scared. I'm not going to force you to stay, but I'll just say this: I would like your help."

I look at Sandy, but the awakener is already in her hands, the tip in her palm.

"As I said before, Adam. There's one thing that has to keep me going. My will to kill the Renaissance Man."

We pause for a second, an Italian nerd who had to learn to put himself in another's shoes, a tiny vietnamese recluse who has an entirely different personality than expected, an overweight girl wrecked by the loss of her brother and seeking blood, and a boy, a boy who questions his own sanity.

Adam Goldberg.

We pause in the middle of a maze created by the man to be feared, the elephant… the animal. The monster.

"Animal." I whisper to myself, soft. "Animal." I say it louder, seeing only Jerry's smiling face, the situation hitting me all at once. "YOU ARE A FUCKING ANIMAL!"

The Renaissance Man quickly appears in front of me, angry, a mirage.

"I am not an elephant." Seethes the Renaissance Man. "I am not an animal. I am a human being… I AM A MAN!"

The Renaissance Man is angrier than ever before, disproportionately angry, pulling his knife out of his suit and slicing his wrist almost off of his arm.

From the cyclone emerges not Kyrkogrim, but something completely else.

The copper-plated man stands an easy sixty feet above us, a golden globe balancing upon his arms. With slit eyes, the god stares down upon us.

"A-Atlas…" The Renaissance Man falls backward. "A-Atlas…" He repeats, joyous. "My messiah has come… My persona has revealed it's true form..."

"Adam." Kim says, nervous for the first time in front of me. "Adam…"  
"How do we get out…?" Fred asks, gulping.

Atlas brings up the humongous globe, taking all of its might to heave it up only to bring it down upon our heads.

"Are you shitting me…" Sandy gasps. "We didn't think of that."

I sit down and close my eyes, ignoring the screams of my group.

I cover my ears.

"Close your eyes." The only voice I hear is Igor's. "And cover your ears."

"It's just a game, it's just a game. It's just a game…"

I open my eyes and awake to the neon lights and blaring noises of _Dave and Buster's_. Looking to my right, I see Kim, Sandy, and Fred, their hand on mine.

I yank my hand up and push my friends onto the ground, attempting to snap them out of the game. As soon as their hands release the joystick, the game changes from rapidly flashing code to the simple "Start Game" screen.

I help Sandy up as she moans, ignoring the weird looks from people at surrounding games. Fred rolls around on the ground, covering his eyes. Kim whispers something into his ear and he gets up.

"Adam."

Igor.

I turn to my left, and Igor is there, at the ticket exchange. He flashes me a smile.

"Look down at your hand." Igor says.

I look down, and my hand clutches a hardcover copy of a book titled: "The Elephant Man". I've heard of it before, a true tale of a man born with a horrible birth disorder leaving his face so distorted that it was unrecognizable as a human… But the bigger question is-

"How did you…" I whisper, and I can hear Igor's chuckle.

"Turn to the last page. The quotes."

I hesitate, looking at Igor.

I flip to the last page. At the top, it reads: "I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I… Am… A man!"  
I close the book, and Igor smirks at me.

"You have found the elephant man."


	16. Part 2, Chapter 16

I flip to a few pages before the quotes. "But, he died in 1890. From the weight of his own head, he died of asphyxiation while trying to sleep laying-"

Igor laughs uncontrollably. "Silly, silly boy. Then again, I should have rephrased myself. You have found _a _elephant man. Except this man is one who is bored and discontent with his life. Although not necessarily rejected by society, this man struggles to fit in." Igor laughs again. "I'm getting too ahead of myself. I should let you get a few suspects before I let you in on some hints." With yet another crackly laugh, Igor is gone.

"We need to go back in there." Says Kim, running up to me. "Once we get to the top floor, we can kill the Renaissance Man."

"Woah, slow down there." Fred says, rubbing his hand through his hair. "First off, we're not even sure if we can even kill him, second, it's pitiful, more floors are added every time someone plays the game, and finally, we need something to kill the shadows besides our personas. Obviously, using just your persona doesn't work out for long periods of times. I'm thinking… A gun, or something like that. Sneak it under our shirts."

"Oh yeah." Sandy rolls her eyes. "We'll just waltz into a gun store, demanding that we're given assault rifles, because there's a game controlled by a elephant-headed guy and we're the only ones that can stop him. Yeah. That seems right."

"Look." Fred says. "My dad has a hunting rifle, and I have easy access to it. I can fire it pretty well, but I don't know about you guys. I got a few baseball bats, kitchen knives, golf clubs…"

"I'll take a kitchen knife." Says Kim.

"I'd be fine with a bat." I consider.

"Hold on." Sandy grumbles. "We're actually doing this? The only thing I can think about is the glock in my dad's nightstand but… I can't fire that!"  
"Perfect!" Fred snaps his fingers in the air, then hushing himself to avoid attracting attention. "I'll have a hunting rifle, Adam will have a baseball bat, Kim, a kitchen knife, and Sandy, a pistol."

Sandy sighs. "What if we get caught?"

"We don't get caught."  
Sandy stares at Fred for a few moments.

"Okay. Tomorrow, we have school." Fred says. "No weekend or police investigation. Tonight, everybody grab what weapon you need. Sneak them under your shirts or pants right before we leave for _Dave and Buster's_." Fred starts making hand motions, caught up in the glory of planning a "mission". "Then, we'll go into Polybius, we'll make it to the top of the floors, and we'll fight the Renaissance Man. Even if we can't kill him, we can definitely interrogate him. Find out who he is in real life and bring him to justice."

The group stares at each other for awhile, waiting for Fred to say something. Sandy looks worried.

"You guys got the plan?"

Nods.

"See you tomorrow."

"See you tommorrow"s are passed around the group, each parting their ways.

Getting outside of the building, I sit at the curb and look at the sunset. A runny sunset, tainted by the light pollution and half blocked by the Empire State Building in the distance, but a sunset no less.

I lean back and close my eyes, wanting to forget everything that happened and just go to sleep right on the curb.

Adam Goldberg did not get any sleep that night.


	17. Part 2, Chapter 17

"After school, right?" I ask Fred, walking to the school gym and messing with the uncomfortable uniform. I can barely keep my eyes open. Out of respect, I stayed awake during the memorial assembly for Terry, but I could just crumple now.

"Yeah. And we don't need to buy any more tokens, 'cause we have 24 left over from the small package yesterday."

Fred opens the door to the gym,

"Welcome to first day of basket-bowl!" A loud voice with a hearty russian accent greets me as I open the door to the gym. A bit scared, I look at the coach. He's tall, but not too tall, a bit chubby, and has a thick black moustache with matching greasy black hair.

"My name is Doilar Malkovich." Yells the ecstatic coach. "I will teach you how to become perfect at basket-bowl, just like my son!" He points at a smiling kid about my height with messy, curled-up brown hair.

"Our school just got shot up a few days ago, and this guys happy?" Whispers a girl not far away from me.

Doilar overhears the remark. "Well, what would moping do? Is that what Terry would've wanted?"

The girl rolls her eyes.

"Anyways, you had choice, either soccer or basket-bowl, and I'm glad you guys chose correct one."

I vaguely remember having Fred choose for me as sighs from the people who wanted to do neither fill my ears.

"I'm glad all of you could come, very nice, very nice. Now." Doilar rubs his hands together. "Let's start with basic drills, very basic. You stand away from partner and throw to him, back and forth. Son, go with kid over there…"

Doilar points at me.

"You, go with her… Him.." Doilar mumbles, assigning the rest of the partners.

"What's your name?" I ask Doilar's son, who, although not quite as happy as his father, seems like an upbeat person.

"Al." He says, passing the ball back right into my hands. "It's short for…" He considers telling me. "Algonquin."

I smile. "Adam." I return, bouncing the ball back. This guy seems nice, I could see coming over to his house or playing a friendly basketball game with him. Wonder if he'll believe the Polybius thing...

"_I am thou, and thou art I…"_

I frown as Igor appears next to me.

"_Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating personas of the strength arcana…"_

"You said this before with Sandy." I hiss at Igor, trying not to be heard. "What does it even mean?"

"Well, if you we're actually nice to me in your dreams, we could do a little fusion. But you need other personas for that, anyways…"

Instead of asking Igor about other personas or getting angry at him for even believing I would be nice to a murderer, I stay quiet, waiting for a time where I could be alone.

…

"You got my bat?" Fred asks, rubbing his hands together.

"Yeah." I answer him, rubbing the back of my neck. "It's really awkward to walk with that thing under the back of my shirt."

"Try having to put the barrel of a rifle down your pants." He whispers back.

"Too much information…" Grumbles Kim. "You guys do look kinda suspicious using those giant coats to cover the bulges in your clothes…" Kim touches her pocket, checking if the knife is still there.

Sandy seems uneasy, her hands always covering the place where the glock is hidden.

"Whatever." Fred returns, leading us to the Polybius machine. "We should be able to advance to the top floor, plus we don't have to run into the Renaissance Man. Although those shadows are tough, I don't think we should be in much life-threatening danger. We need to get experience using our personas, and use that to defeat the Renaissance Man."

Fred seems jovial, despite what we saw. It's part of his personality, but he does not see the immediate danger. His motivations are different, just wanting to "Save the world from enslavement"... A simple but powerful drive.

Sliding the coin in, I press the start button.


	18. Part 2, Chapter 18

SLavE pRoGRaM INItiAlizEd

Booting up SLavE pRoGraM…

Fool Magician Hanged Man Moon

Component recognition completed. Booting up…

Current floor: 2

148 current occupants

Scan{document 9} Scan{document 11}

Error

[-No emancipation890987-]

Error found: Overload

Error found: Bus error 13, 17, 96

Rebooting…

As we materialize into the game, two patrolling shadows whip around, reflexes god-like. Sandy, terrified, pulls out the glock and fires a shot at the fastest shadow, taking off a bit of his shoulder. A second shot hits the eye of the mask and shatters half of it.

I see the opportunity and meet the shadow on it's course towards the group, shattering the mask completely with a devastating uppercut from the baseball bat. The second shadow, slower, morphs into a sphere on it's route towards us, spinning around to reveal a long, purple tongue sprouting out of a mouth with bright red lips. It zips toward Fred at an astonishing speed.

Fred attempts to keep his cool and lines up the sights of the hunting rifle on the shadow. He pulls the trigger, flinching from the recoil and cutting a clean hole through the shadow's tongue. However, the shadow doesn't seem to care and whips Fred off his feet.

Sandy aims the glock and fires, missing completely. Cursing, she pulls out her awakener and and stabs her arm.

"Nemesis!"

The robed puppeteer only stares at the shadow and back at Sandy, a devilish smirk on his face.

"What are you doing!" Sandy yells as the shadow goes for another attack on Fred. "Kill the shadow!"

Kim jumps on the shadow, knife raised. She stabs it again and again, the creature writhing, confused. A multitude of swears flood from her mouth as she stabs again and twists the knife.

The shadow, annoyed, shakes the small girl off of it.

"I got it!" Screams Fred, pushing the bolt forward on his rifle and shooting into the mouth of the shadow. The bullet goes straight through, spraying me with black tar.

The monster is weakened, but still not killed. It rushes towards Sandy, tongue whipping about.

Sandy, eyes crazed, yells: "Electricity!"

"What!" In vain, I throw the baseball bat at the shadow, trying to get it to face me.

I stab my forearm, and Noah cyclones in.

"Um… Electricity!" I yell, scared, as the shadow rushes towards me.

Noah waves his hand, and the creature melts upon contact with the crackling white branches.

Fred collapses against a wall as Sandy looks down at her awakener.

"I guess it's not for fighting… Support? For supporting you guys?"  
"I guess it is…" Fred sighs, wiping his brow. "Anyways, we need to find the next floor. Although we now know some new things, getting to the top will be hard. I don't feel that tired, but what is it now… 150 something floors?" Fred scratches his head.

"Let's just find the stairs." Grumbles Kim, walking ahead of the group.

…

Sandy stays hugs the wall as we walk up the stairs, an uncountable amount of floors above the base. Her eyes are locked on a boy standing on the opposite side, about 12 years old. A brush in his hand, the boy deftly paints a canvas, obviously a prodigy.

We have passed multitudes of people, leftover souls, none of them being particularly stressed nor paying any attention to us. Some sit and think, some are listening to music, some are stretching… It just seems like what a normal person would do when they are bored.

The boy's drawing is a butterfly in flight, one wing sky blue and the other blood red. The words "Butterfly effect" are scrawled in large letters near the top. Below it is the phase: "Chaos theory" then below it: "Who is John Titor?" below that it reads: "Who is John Galt?" The two latter phrases repeat each other, getting smaller and smaller in print until collision with the main picture.

Genuinely interested, I approach the boy.

"Chaos theory… Butterfly effect?" I question. Fred walks up to me.

"Who the hell is John Titor? And who is John Galt?"

"Who is John Galt?" Igor muses, materializing by my side.

I ignore him. "John Galt is a character in this book called Atlas Shrugged. I don't really know much more about him though…"

"You should take a picture of his drawing." Kim says, putting her hands on her hips. "With your cell phone. Then, at lunch or something, we can collect some notebook paper, get some suspects for the Renaissance Man, and try to decode this guy's painting."

"Guys, it's probably just gibberish." Says Sandy. "This kid's passion is painting, and isn't he just painting what he feels?"  
"What he feels! What it feels to be controlled, to be a slave…" Kim says, lost in thought.

"That's not what I meant."  
"Let's just move on. You got your picture, let's go to the next floor. I'd say…" Fred rubs his temples. "We're about 40 floors up. And we're running low on energy bars and red bull."

Fred takes off his backpack to reveal cans of energy drinks with scattered protein bars. I've had a few, and I they kind of help with what Kim calls "persona fatigue": sluggishness after using your persona too much.

An energy bar in his mouth, Fred climbs the stairs to the next floor.

Upon climbing up, the floor seems unusual. Instead of a maze, it's a large room, the only item being a single arcade cabinet. It's turned off, the sticker on top reading: "-1: Hunger/Reverse Fool"

"Tarots?" Asks Kim, running up to the machine. She inspects the cabinet, suspicion in her eyes.

"Why is this floor… Different?" Fred asks.

"And where are the stairs?" Sandy looks around.

Slowly, I approach the cabinet. There is no coin slot, but there is two control sticks and three buttons, labeled "A", "B", and "Kill", along with the generic "Start" button.

I hesitate, my hand hovering over the start button. Is it the only way to continue? What will happen if I press that button?

I push start.

**_Rules of -1_**

**_Press A to advance text_**

**_Press B to pick up weapon_**

**_Press Kill to kill._**

**_Right analog to move_**

**_Left analog to aim_**

**_If you die in this game, an electronic pulse through the analog sticks will kill you instantly._**

**_I recommend that you play well._**

**_Beating -1 will be the ONLY way to continue to the next floor._**

**_-The Renaissance Man_**

**_Game starting in 5 seconds_**

"Wait, I'll die if I lose in the game?" I cry, trying to take my hands off the cabinet to no avail. My hands seem glued to the analog sticks.

I look back at my friends, who are speechless. Sandy weeps into her palms.

_**Game starting in 4 seconds**_

I grit my teeth. I'm going to have to do this for my friends. While I have played quite a few games, I by no means consider myself "good". All I have to do is keep my cool. Stay calm.

**_Game starting in 3 seconds_**

I start to hyperventilate, "trying to keep my cool" having gone completely out of the window now. My elbows frantically jerk, trying to get my hands of the analog stick.

**_Game starting in 2 seconds_**

"Adam." I feel Fred's hand on my shoulder. "You just have to calm down. Believe me, I feel like freaking out right now, just like you. Close your eyes and cover your ears. Well, if you could move your hands-"

"Are you helping at all!?" Kim yells.

I take a deep breath.

**_Game starting in 1 second_**

"If you die, Adam…" Kim pauses. "...Just don't die. Please."  
"And my advice wasn't better?" Fred yells, worried.  
Kim sighs, and a tear slides down her cheek. "You gotta win, Adam. You gotta win."

_**Game start.**_


	19. Part 2, Chapter 19

The game seems to be from a top down perspective in a pixelated style, the main avatar being a man wearing an elephant mask. The main character is standing outside a building, in which a man holding an assault rifle stands partially out of view. I move the left analog towards the building slowly, eyeing a wooden plank next to the door. I enter slowly, trying not to alert the guard. "B" to pick up weapons. The avatar hovers over the wooden plank as I press "B", and he picks it up. Slowly, I advance towards the guard, but with inhuman reflexes, he turns around and pulls out a gun. But I'm too fast. I press the "Kill" button and decapitate the man, blood spurting and staining the ground and walls. His body slowly crumples as I shudder and pick up his gun.

I look down the corridor and there are two more guards sharing a smoke. Next to them lay shotguns.

I quickly dance out of the hallway and blindly fire bullets at the pair. One is down, but the other, along with three more guards, are attracted by the gunshots and race to the spot where I was at.

I need to find a place to hide. My forehead's sweating. Should I stand my ground instead? The blood-stained wooden plank stands tantalizingly close to my feet.  
Gritting my teeth, I jump out of the hallway, swinging madly with the wooden plank. I cut the first guard in half and knock the second one down. Picking up the previous guard's knife, I stab the last one in the stomach. I kick the knocked down guard's face into the wall, splattering the wallpaper with gore.

I feel… Uneasy.

Two more left, but they don't notice me. They decided to explore a different hallway for me, but they are approaching soon.

I pick up one of the guard's shotguns and wait at the door that the pair will pass through.

You… You can do this Adam.

As soon as the door opens, I press the "Kill" button, ripping through one of the guards and gracing the shoulder of the one next to him, who takes cover.

Bloodlust in my eyes, I burst through the door, kneeing the second guard's head into the wall, blood covering the screen.

_**Proceed into office**_

An arrow appears on the screen, and I move my avatar to follow it. I appear at the door of a square room, a desk in the center with two potted plants at it's side. A pale-faced man sits at the desk, his hands crossed.

As I push through the door, the man falls off his chair.

"Please… Please don't kill me…" Says the man, and I press "A" to advance the text.

The avatar says nothing. I move him closer to the man.

"The safe? Is that what you want? Look, it's right over there… Under the painting…" The man pleads.

I make the avatar move closer.

"I'll know the code, I'll open it for you. Don't worry, don't worry… Everything will be okay, right?"  
Closer. My avatar puts his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Everything will be okay." He says, the trunk of his mask bouncing as he speaks.

Out of my control, my avatar wrestles the man to the ground, his hand covering his face.

In the next moment, I'm not playing a game. I'm right there, in the shoes of my avatar, my eyes seeing all that he sees, the man's head in my hand.

I squint my eyes at the terrified man, looking through the elephant mask. I am no longer Adam Goldberg, I am The Renaissance Man. This is justified.

I smash the back of his head in the linoleum, not with the strength of a scrawny first-year high school student, but with the strength of an animal.

An elephant.

I smash his head again and again into the ground, the sound of the man's screams magnified by the elephant ears.

I keep flattening his head into the tile until there's only a dilapidated portion of his front face, his eyes frozen in a moment of complete terror.

His hands shaking, pieces of skull glued to them with crimson blood, The Renaissance Man stands up and smiles, an entirely different person.

The game coming to a close, Adam Goldberg falls back from the machine, starting at a murderer in the blank reflection of the cabinet glass, his unwitting friends hugging him and helping the unstable child up.


	20. Part 2, Chapter 20

A brilliant staircase appears in the back of the room.

"Jesus, you had some tense moments there." Says Fred, patting me on the back. "I really thought you were gonna lose."

I'm absolutely speechless. I look at my hands, half expecting them to be covered in blood. How could I do such a thing?

Stumbling, I take a few paces and throw up over the plain white floor.

Sandy gasps and Kim walks up to me.

"Adam… Are you okay?"

"I… Don't feel so good."

It's just a game. And the graphics were pixel style too… But how could it seem so real? And how could I kill that man?  
Just like at the school, before Terry got murdered, I am… Different. Insane.

"We need to go." I mumble to Kim. "I feel sick."

The group passes looks among each other, deciding that, since we were low on energy drinks, it would be understandable to leave.

"Nemesis is telling me something." Sandy kneels down, holding her head. "He can get us out. We don't need to walk down all the stairs."  
"That's good." Says Kim.

"Everybody hold hands."

The group does as told, Kim flinching when Fred reaches for her hand.

The next moment, we're outside the game, staring at the green "Start Game" screen of Polybius.

…

"John Titor, John Titor…" Igor mumbles, sitting in his usual subway seat, the car rumbling back and forth. "What do you think time is, Adam? What is your perception of time."

"I am not in the mood to talk with you."

Igor chuckles. "Well, you're going to be stuck in this dream for awhile then."

I wait for a few minutes, silent, but then open my mouth. "Time is a straight line. Everything that happened cannot be changed, and everything that will happen is destiny, and cannot be changed as well."  
Igor shakes his head. "This is a theory made by John Titor, and I can confirm it is completely correct: Time started out as astraight line. The alpha world line. As people decided to make decisions, the world line split into billions of lines close together, each representing a different outcome. The bigger the impact of the choice, the farther away the line would be from the other lines. But in the future, in about a year, a choice so impactful on the world will be made, so impactful that it will add a whole new world line cluster: the beta world line. And that choice… Will be made by you."

I roll my eyes, not believing the man at all. After all, what choice could I possibly make that would impact the world that much?

"And you may ask: 'What does this have to do with personas?', well, a lot. You see, to fuse personas, I usually have to take the result persona from a different world line. Here, I'll show you. Let's take Sandman and Pixie, two personas you got from killing shadows…"

"When did I get them?" I ask, confused.

"I kept them for safekeeping. I can't trust you with them." Igor says. "But anyways…" He sweeps his arm, and two tarot cards appear below his gloved hand. The cards fly towards each other, spiral in the air, and form into one card, which turns to reveal a pale, smiling humanoid with wide lips and small, stationary, feathery wings.

"This is Ryuk." Says Igor. "I plucked him from a different world line. While this world line is very different from ours, in fact, you might say it is recovering after the rule of an evil someone, it is not different enough to create a whole new world line cluster. Now, he can be used to your benefit, as he is much more powerful than Sandman or Pixie."

"Nice to meet you." Says Ryuk, his voice scratchy and cracked.

"What?" I fumble around in my seat. "Igor, I'm so confused. Who is… What is a world line… What?"

Igor throws back his head and laughs. "You'll learn in due time, Adam. All in due time. However, my time is up, and it's time to leave the stage."

My eyes crazed, I sit up in my bed.

I look at my bedroom wall, and scrawled in black marker, are the words: "All in due time."

**END OF PART TWO**


	21. Part 3, Chapter 21

**PART THREE: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE TITOR**

"People are frightened by what they don't understand."

-John Merrick, _The Elephant Man_

I sigh. Fumbling, I roll out of bed to get a sponge to wipe off the words. "Igor, you are a true asshole..." I manage.

I turn the lights on in the bathroom, squinting at the brightness. I pick up a sponge and run some water over it, not caring how my wall would look after I finished scrubbing.

Halfway through scrubbing the "due", I whisper: "Igor. As much as I don't want to talk to you, I'm absolutely confused. Why do world lines even exist? Why don't we live in the world that this "Ryuk" thing lives in?"

Igor appears, sitting at my desk. "Because of John Titor. He considered it an undesirable outcome for the world, traveled back in time, and did something seemingly meaningless, like throwing away a school application form or something of the sort. Now, that meaningless thing spiraled into something bigger, changing more and more things, bigger things, and changed our outcome of this very earth, the separate reality confined to a different world line. You see, in order for Ryuk to exist, a very specific set of events had to happen; everything had to go right. You change one little thing..." Igor makes a fist with his open hand. "And the entire world changes as a result. It's a little something called the "Butterfly Effect"."

"And who is 'John Titor'?"

"Who _is _John Titor?"

"You're no help." Having finished scrubbing, I collapse into bed.

"Oh, fine. John Titor is a time traveler. You might of heard on him, he appears on the internet, on forums, and leaves it up to the reader to believe him. But trust me, Adam... He is quite real. By the way, did you know that in 2008, the United States was absorbed in a devastating civil war?"

"That didn't happen."  
"It didn't... What about this 'destiny' thing, Adam?" Igor mocks. "That was destiny, after all. But do you know what saved the fate of the United States? John Titor. He time-traveled back, and, using the butterfly effect, changed everything."

"So you're saying the choice I will make will be more impactful than the United States erupting into another Civil War?"  
Igor nods.

"Bullshit." I say, and turn face-down into my pillow.

...

"Okay, here's the picture." I say, showing my phone to the rest of the group.

"Do you really think it's okay to talk about stuff like this at lunch?" Fred asks, taking a bite out of a BLT. "I mean, we probably look crazy..."  
"No one will believe us." Kim remarks. "It doesn't really matter."

Sandy looks up from her phone. "So, Adam, you were right about John Galt. Some character from a 'philosophical novel'. Don't get what that has to do with The Renaissance Man. And this John Titor guy, he's some crazy dude on the internet. Claims he's a time traveler."

"He's real."

"What makes you think that?" Sandy says, taking a sip of water. "I wouldn't believe a word he says. He's just the same as the people who claim the world will end, when in reality, it doesn't."

I ponder on whether to tell the group about Igor, but I don't bother. It would take way too long to explain, and I don't want to give the man the attention he craves.

"You know, just a gut feeling. After all, would this kid paint him if he was a sham? John Titor must have something to do with all of this."  
The group stays silent for a few moments, the loud banterings of classmates in the background.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the social studies teacher start towards our table.

"Don't say anything stupid." Kim hisses.

He slams his hands down on the table, papers below them. "You kids havin' fun?"  
"Yeah." Says Sandy, smiling. "I'm enjoying the new year."  
"Good, good." He laughs, getting up. The papers still lay where he left them.

I am about to notify him about the papers when I spy a paragraph written in barely noticeable print.

Looking closely, I read:

"_I am John Titor. Now, do not look up at me at all. Pretend like nothing has happened. You can show this to ONLY the following: Fred Yephyrdelli, Hannah Nguyen, Sandy Scielznek, and yourself, Adam Goldberg. I come from the future, from the beta world line. A world line that you formed. I wish to work with you in order to change the events that occur in the future. Meet at the Polybius machine at 4:30 at Dave and Buster's. We will go in there and prevent the Renaissance Man from changing the world. Together, we can change the world, Adam Goldberg. Signed, John Tenenbaun(John Titor)."_

"What does it say?" Says Sandy. "Is there something written there?"

"No." I say, and get up to give the papers back to .

Help? Ridiculous. I don't need help to change the world. But I'll have to end up with this imbecile following us around, along with the three others...

I scowl.

I then shake my head, turning back around to show it to the rest of the group. The bipolar was acting up again.

I shouldn't of done that, I realize.

"Oh, thanks." Says Mr. Tenenbaun, grabbing the papers from my hands. "Sorry about that."

The man walks away, turning back, a small smile appearing on his face.


	22. Part 3, Chapter 22

"You guys planning to go to Polybius tonight?" I ask the group, walking up to the table.

"I think I need to take a break." Fred puts his hands on his head. "All that fighting has taken a toll on me."

"I can't go either." Sandy says. "My parents are getting together to make funeral preparations for Terry."

"Sandy." Kim puts her hand on Sandy's shoulder. "So much has happened these past few days… That has been pushed into the back of my mind. I'm sorry…"

"It's okay." Sandy manages a smile. "I know who's responsible. I know how to bring him to justice. I wouldn't say that makes me completely stable, but it helps a lot."

"Okay, see you next period."

"See you." The group says together.

…

I check my watch. 4:32. A girl approaches John Titor as he stands next to the machine.

"Could I play?"  
"No. I'm saving this for a friend."

The girl scowls and walks off. I approach Titor.

"You're late."  
"Oh, give me a break. Two minutes."  
Titor grabs my shoulder roughly and glares into my eyes. "If you would know what I went through, Adam, you would know that nothing is more precious than time. When my girlfriend was killed by a CERN agent, I went back in time again and again, traveled through hundreds of world lines, before realizing that it was destiny, and all world lines corrected themselves for a change that big. I went back to see her one last time, and, of course, she had no idea that I came from the future or that she was going to die, and I treasured the one hour I spent with her. _Nothing _is more wasteful than wasted time."

I stand back, slowly bringing the coin out of my pocket. "So what do you want me to do? Show you around?"  
"Yes." Says Titor. "We should advance a few floors too. Anything that stops the Renaissance Man as soon as possible."

I slide the coin in.

_SLavE pRoGRaM INItiAlizEd_

_Booting up SLavE pRoGraM…_

_Fool Tower_

_Component recognition completed. Booting up…_

_Current floor: 41_

_202 current occupants_

_Scan{document 14}_

_Error_

_[-No emancipation890987-]_

_Error found: Overload_

_Error found: Bus error 13, 17, 96_

_Rebooting…_

As we appear in the game, I feel a rustling sound behind me. Before I can even think, the cold metal barrel of a pistol is pressed against the back of my head.

"To be honest, Adam, I didn't think it would be this easy. I have you in the exact spot I need you to be. All those years of going back and back again, getting a fake college major and filling out all the forms to become a teacher, trying to find the exact right time to confront you, trying to find the place you went to school… Oh, it's all worth it now."  
I put my hands in the air, trying to stay calm. "What are you doing?"  
"I'm saving the world."  
He pulls the trigger.


	23. Part 3, Chapter 23

A searing pain shoots through the back of my head, but that pain is replaced quickly with numbness. Everything goes black.

As if I was listening to his voice through an old telephone, the Renaissance Man begins to speak.

"John, I would consider a back alley to be a much better choice, as, if you want to murder him here, you have to play by my rules."

The hole in my head fills itself, and the numbness disappears. My eyes suddenly snap open, but not by my will. I take a step towards Titor, under the control of The Renaissance Man.

"No… NO!" Titor brings up his gun. "YOU need to play by the rules… The rules of life and death!"  
He fires three shots, and all of them _pang _against the wall behind me. I walk another two steps forward. I'm within arm's length of Titor, and my hand flies to his shoulder.

"It can't end now… Not like this…" Titor whimpers, realizing his hopelessness.

I wrestle Titor to the ground, and my hands clasp around his neck. The Renaissance Man's control suddenly leaves me.

I ponder on releasing my iron grip. But then what would Titor do? Kill me?

"Adam…" He chokes out. "If it's you in there… Adam… Please… You don't need to let me live… But make the right choice…" Blood pours from his mouth, and he coughs it into my face. "It can't end now…"

I push harder on his neck.

"... Not…Like… This…"

Titor's eyes glaze over and he stops choking. After awhile, I am sure that he's completely dead, and I stand up, to stand face to face with the Renaissance Man. But instead of an elephant for a head, the suited man has my face.

I touch my nose, but instead, there's a short, wrinkled trunk.

"Leave." The Renaissance Man commands, and I open my eyes to the real world.

To my right is John Titor, collapsed on the ground. Of a heart attack.

I fall backwards, feigning surprise.

"Somebody help!" I say, but I know that Titor is dead, and death is final.

…

"I regret to say that one of our teachers has passed away yesterday, but that is truth, and it only adds to the sadness that Terry's passing brought upon this school. He died instantly of a heart attack, so his suffering was nonexistent. All of our wishes go to the family of Mr. Tenenbaun…" The principle mumbles over the loudspeaker in advisory period.

"Instantly of a heart attack. Don't see that often." Fred says. "Most people take 30 minutes to die of one, and usually before then, they get proper treatment. And Titor seemed pretty healthy too."

"Good thing none of us went to Polybius, that would be awfully suspicious." Sandy sighs.

"Maybe he went to Polybius on his own?" Kim asks.  
"But he would know what he's doing. He seems like a very serious and articulate man." Replies Fred. "Besides, we're looking to deep into it. It probably didn't have anything to do with Polybius, and we're just being offensive to the dead."

Kim slowly looks at me, suspicion in her eyes.

I try to turn my gaze. How is she suspicious? How does she…?

"Anyways." I look at the group. "More floors have probably been added. The more we wait, the longer it's going to take us to reach the top. We really should go tonight."  
Looks are passed between the group, and we all nod. Kim hesitates before nodding.

What makes her so suspicious? In fact, the fact that she even thinks I had something to do with Titor makes me suspicious of her. After all, the only witness was the Renaissance Man.

"See you tonight." I say to Kim.  
"See you tonight." She replies.

The two lead suspects of each other smiled, each thinking they knew exactly who The Renaissance Man was.


	24. Part 3, Chapter 24

_SLavE pRoGRaM INItiAlizEd_

_Booting up SLavE pRoGraM…_

_Fool Magician Hanged Man Moon_

_Component recognition completed. Booting up…_

_Current floor: 41_

_244 current occupants_

_HFJ FP KLQ TEL PEB PBBJP_

_Scan{document 14} {document 131313}_

_Code Imbued; {[three letters back]}_

_Error_

_[-No emancipation890987-] [-No emancipation1313131313-]_

_Error found: Overload_

_Error found: Bus error 13, 1313, 131313_

_Rebooting…_

Fred immediately pulls out his backpack and pops the cap of an energy drink. Smiling, he guzzles down the bottle.

"Really, now?" Kim grumbles.

Fred finishes his sip, wiping his smile. He pulls back the bolt on his rifle, checking to see if it's loaded.

"When I'm in here… I get this… Rush." He says. "All the worries and miseries of real life melt into… Polybius. It's like playing a real video game, but magnified 10-fold. Nothing seems to matter anymore."

"Fred, what are you saying?" Sandy asks, nervous.

"I don't know." He rubs his head. "I actually… Don't know."

…

"Another arcade cabinet." Fred stops dead. Our eyes lock into the center of the room.

"0: Fool", the cabinet reads, and I approach it.

"I'm not so sure about this…" Sandy says. "Adam could die."  
"We've all been risking our lives these past 30 floors." Says Kim. "And besides, Adam did great at the last game. Are we really going to let an arcade cabinet stop us?"  
Sandy bites her lip. I see the hesitation in her eyes.

"Don't worry." I say, and scan over the controls.

Unusually, instead of a button and joystick layout, there is simply a PS3 controller sitting at the cabinet. A tad hesitant, I press the "Start" button.

**_Welcome to Persona 5(A.K.A. 0: Fool)_**

**_A note from The Renaissance Man: This coding behind this cabinet was delightfully taken from a different wordline, a worldline in which your journey is simply fiction- a game to be enjoyed by the masses. Thanks to John Titor, the general public can now relive your story in the comfort of their own home… And you are the one who will write it._**

"Are you serious?" Fred says, aghast. "That can't be true… How does that even work?"

**_Game starting in 5 seconds._**

Who is John Titor, and why would he want to help the Renaissance Man with such a thing?

**_Game starting in 4 seconds._**

Do the two have a history together? Maybe killing Titor was a bad choice, but he was intent on killing me…

**Game starting in 3 seconds.**

"Oh, ooh!" Igor coos, appearing at my side. "I love this game. I replayed it multiple times. My favorite part is the ending!"

**_Game starting in 2 seconds._**

"Wait, Igor, you did?" I whisper. "What happens at the end?"

**_Game starting in 1 second._**

"Oh, Adam. Spoilers." Igor throws back his head and laughs.

**_Game start._**


	25. Part 3, Chapter 25

The screen lights up as piano notes strike like the patter of rain. Each single notes strike with the same groove of the last, although there is two conflicting sets of notes.

"Sail by Awolnation..." Says Fred to himself.  
The lighter set of notes sound as we see an animated boy walk down a school hallway. Squinting, I realize it's Terry- although he's hard to recognize due to the fact that he's in an anime style.

"That's Terry…" Sandy whispers.

"Why is he in a japanese cartoon?" Kim tilts her head at the screen.

A deeper, more ominous set of notes ring out as the camera pans to show none other than Jerry around the corner of the hallway. His eyes are crazed and filled with tears. With each strike of a note, he switches from having the face of an elephant from having his own face.

Back to the light notes, and the camera focuses on Terry. He's still happy, running down the hallway. His eyes catch on Jerry poking his head around the corner of the hallway. The ominous notes set in as Jerry pulls out a pistol from his coat.

"I'm sorry." Jerry mouths, the music in full blast. A loud synth pierces the air as a bullet is fired from the gun. Another as an accompanying bullet is unleashed.

The music pauses it's intensity as Jerry walks up to the injured Terry, on the ground. Terry looks up at The Renaissance Man's puppet, pain and fear in his eyes.  
One more bullet is fired with an explosive synth to go with it. Jerry spins the gun so the barrel is just under his chin. His lip quivers, apparently not in control.

"It can't end now… Not like this…" He mouths, and as a gunshot is fired, we are cut to a red screen. Somebody yells: "SAIL!" with all their might, and "Persona 5" appears on the screen.

"Start Game" and "Options" fade into the red background, along with white chairs.

I was so absorbed into the opening that I just notice Sandy crying. I want to spin around or console her, but I must focus on the game.

The cursor over "Start Game" I depress the X button.

Text fades into the black screen. "Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it's yours." -Ayn Rand, _Atlas Shrugged_

"Atlas Shrugged…" I scowl, and Igor's face slowly fades into view.

"Who is this guy?" Sandy asks. "Is this from your perspective, Adam?"  
"I've never seen him before." I lie, and think about what I'll do when the messed-up things my other self did pop up in the game. Probably just explain it in the same way.

Igor chuckles, shaking his head. "I'm sure this'll be pretty boring for you, Adam. After all, you've done all of this before. In fact, the stakes are the exact same. If you die in the game, you die in here. It's like… Everything… Life, is a game. And I am the one who must code it."

Staring at Igor's face in the screen and his on the outside, I see the truth in the man's words.


	26. Part 3, Chapter 26

…

**Save Titor**

**Kill Titor**

"So did this happen to you, Adam?" Kim asks. My avatar is on top of Titor, hand crushing his neck. The game had gone rather smoothly up to this point, on very easy, it was a piece of cake. A weakness-oriented turn-based dungeon crawler… Based on my life up to this moment.

I stay silent. Not wanting to arouse suspicion, I click: "Save Titor."

Suddenly, everything goes black. A long string of numbers appear in front of me, and they change from: "0.5638937492739841" to "0.5638937492739842".

The scene before me fades into view, everything the same as before.

"You changed world lines." Says Igor, clapping his hands. "You left the last world line as one where Titor lives. Everything that happens in this game… Changes what happens in different word lines. Everything you do differently will affect the cluster that we live in."

A bite my lip and advance to the next section of the game.

…

As I make my avatar begin to play the 0:Fool cabinet, the screen goes black.  
"You win." Says The Renaissance Man, his voice sounding from far above.

"Onto the next floor." Says Fred. "One more cabinet, then we'll take a break and wait until tomorrow."

Kim flashes me a suspicious stare, out of the blue.

Am I doing something wrong? Did I mess something up? Why is Kim acting so… Weird?  
I pretend to not notice the look. After all, I'm not The Renaissance Man. But I got several people who could be him. Since I know Titor is alive in a different world line, he could definitely still be guilty. Titor and Kim top my list, and Fred seems… Different in Polybius. Odd.

…

"I'm calling it, the next floor's gonna be the cabinet." Says Fred, digging out more bullets from his backpack. "Let's go up." He runs past a woman on the top of the staircase.

"Hold on…" The woman mumbles. "I forgot to pick my daughter up from school…" Her eyes seem lost in the wall across from her.

"Creepy." Says Kim under her breath.

As we arrive on the next floor, Fred smiles.

"Called it."

In the middle of the room, as expected, is a cabinet, labeled: "1: Magician".

"I'm pretty sure you're used to this by now." Says Sandy. "Don't die."  
I take a deep breath in. "I won't."  
I slam my hand down on the start button, just wanting to get it over with and rest.

**_Welcome To 1: Magician_**

**_The rules are simple… As always, don't die._**

**_Game starting in 5 seconds._**

**_Game starting in 4 seconds._**

**_Game starting in 3 seconds._**

**_Game starting in 2 seconds._**

**_Game starting in 1 second._**

"Let's get this over with." I grumble.

**_Game start._**


	27. Part 3, Chapter 27

A pixelated man fades into view, staring straight at me. His sprite seems detached from the background, which is a cheesy cut of some trees, making it seem like this is a game that's old. He looks generic, wearing a suit and having clean-cut brown hair.

"This looks like earthbound." Fred comments.

"_**You kill man." **_Says the game, in a robotic siri like voice. The tone, however, does not match the friendly iPhone companion. This one is much deeper and scratchy, each unattached word spoken as if gasping for breath. Two options pop up: "Attack" or "Do Not Attack".

I move the analog stick down, over "Do Not Attack" and consider choosing it. Will that make me lose, though? I will die if I choose the wrong thing. After all, it's just a man in a videogame. I've slaughtered hundreds of them in _Call of Duty _without thinking about it.

I click "Attack". There's a generic slash across the man, and he fades out of view.

"_**Good."**_ Says the in-game narrator. "_**You kill woman."**_

A generic woman fades into view, again, with brown hair and wearing a simple top and skirt.

What is this game wanting me to do? To feel remorse?

"What if I don't…" I whisper under my breath.

Surprisingly, the narrator answers. "_**Want emancipation? You want it? Want to learn the meaning behind the chairs, the meaning behind the universe, have the world under your very thumb… Do you? You are slave… And nothing better. Society has chained you up, and caused you to have a safe yet boring life. DO YOU WANT MORE, ADAM GOLDBERG? DO YOU WANT EMANCIPATION?"**_

The seemingly illiterate narrator changes completely in anger, and, even though I can't see him, his words burn my skin. I click: "Attack". A fireball strikes her, and she fades out of view.

The screen fades into black. My hands are suddenly allowed off the joystick.

Kim pats me on the back.

"For some reason, that was some psychological warfare. It didn't make a big deal out of it or anything, but… I… Don't feel so good." I shake my head. "Let's get out of here."

Fred nods. "Sandy?"

"Nemesis!" Sandy stabs her palm.

The next moment, we're staring at the screen of Polybius, the sounds of patrons humming around us.

My phone begins to vibrate in my pocket.

"Sometimes, you have to live with the consequences of your actions." Igor says, sitting at another arcade booth.

"What?" I say, and I pick up my phone. Dave.

"Hello?"

"Adam… Adam… Adam…" Dave sobs over the phone. I can hear the distress in his words.

"What is it?" I say, nervous. Igor flashes me a smile.

"I don't know… What… Adam, this is a nightmare. I can't…"

"What happened!?"  
"Mom…" He chokes on tears. "Mom is dead."


	28. Part 3, Chapter 28

Slowly, I open my eyes, only to be washed with a sea of red. Not dark, crimson red, not light, almost pink red, solid, demeaning, serious red.

I jolt back and almost fall out of my chair. Chair?

I look down and to both of my sidest. 2 Generic white chairs lay on either side of me, and, along with the one I'm sitting on to make 5 chairs in total. A ball and chain is clasped around the leg of my chair.

How did I get here? I remember Dave telling me mom is dead, and then?

Wait. Mom is dead? Oh god… And what I did in the game probably did that. But did I have a choice?  
Does that mean dad is dead too? I do remember killing a man in the game…

"_yOu PRoBablY hAVe A buNCh oF QUEsTiOnS, ADAM." _A voice comes from ahead, not the normal voice of a man, but a masculine series of retro chirps and clicks that can barely be understood, some letters pronounciated much louder than others.

"Who are you…" I whisper, not caring if the man didn't hear.

A bunch of white pixels appear in front of me, where the man was, again contrasting against the sea of red just like the chairs. The pixels are swirling around, and, caught in the mess, I see items, chairs, masks, hands reaching out into the red.

"_TO sAY ThAt i aM tHe CReAtor Of iGOr wOuLD bE an UNdeRsTatEmENt… FoR I Am thE CReatOR of aLL. I Am ThE fiRsT thINg yOu SEe whEN You ArE BoRN anD ThE LaST thINg YoU seE whEn yOu dIe. i… aM REDMAN DEADMAN."_

"How did I get here?" I ask, frantic. I can only get into Igor's world when I'm sleeping… But this man seems far more powerful.

"yOU fAinTEd." Says Redman Deadman. "FRoM shOcK aND fEAr. FeAR inStILLeD bY thE rENaIssAnCE MaN's psYcHOloGiCAl ToRTurE."

"Philemon." Igor scoffs, appearing at the chair next to me. "Get off your high horse."

"i… Am NoT PHILEMON!" Roars Redman Deadman, a hand poking out of his mess of pixels writhing in pain. "PhILeMOn waS aN ObsErVer! I aM A WORLD SHAKER! WhILe HiM anD yOu MaYBe jUdgEMeNT, I aM… THE WORLD!"

Igor snickers, and Redman Deadman takes a step forward to him.

"LeAVe At onCE. FoR yOU…" He turns toward me. "...aRE NoT PErfEcT."

I open my eyes to the real world, to see Fred staring at me. Kim is on my phone, trying to calm down Dave. Sandy is leaning against an arcade machine, head in her hands. A manager is attempting to talk to her.

"Adam… I'm sorry about what happened." Fred's eyes are watery. He extends a hand towards me. I take his hand and stand up.

I'm in shock… My mom… Killed by my own actions…

I turn around and start running for the exit of the building.

I push open the door and keep running.

And I don't stop until my legs are burning, my face red, and I bend over and throw up all over the sidewalk I was running on. I curl up into a ball, bawling.

"19 more arcana to go." Says Igor, standing over me.

He smiles.

I rub my tears away from my face. Heh. What would being sad do? Will it help? No. Heck, do I even need help? I'm liking this other personality...

I shake my head and smile back at him.


	29. Part 3, Chapter 29

I'll kill him… I will slit his throat and take pleasure in hearing him gasp for breath as his windpipe is cut in half.

"Adam."  
I will enjoy it. Every last second.

"Adam."  
Does that make me a psychopath? No. After what The Renaissance Man did? He deserves to die. More than die, he deserves to live his last seconds in despair, writhing in pain.

"Adam!" Bubbe reaches across the table to lay a hand on my arm. "You broke your cup, sweetie."

I look down. The shattered glass from the cup is digging into my hand, and blood is pouring over the table cloth. I take a shard out, wincing.

"Adam." Bubbe says softly, pushing my face to look into her wrinkled eyes. "You can't just phase out like that. We can all get over it together. Here, let me help you with your hand…"

Dave doesn't look up from his scrambled eggs. His knuckles are white, his fists sitting at the edge of the table.

It's been three days since a police officer found me wandering around the neighborhood I curled up in, trying to get back to _Dave and Buster's_. He correctly recognized me and brought me to my single grandma, who everyone in the family calls: "Bubbe". I was later informed that, along with my mom, dad dropped dead of a heart attack at the office he works at.

The police officer kneeled down next to me and said:

"Just a terrible coincidence, son."

And that is what made me the most angry. How could you think that it's all a coincidence? Jerry, Titor, Mom, Dad… Even Terry. Dead because of my actions. But none of them were my fault, right? The Renaissance Man is responsible, right?

Tomorrow I'll be starting school again. Meet up with the group, and we'll finish this. Get to the top of Polybius and kill the wretched man.

Frankly, I'm surprised that he hasn't controlled any of the people who played the game already. He has what, 250 people who played it?

I guess he's waiting for the right moment. Only so many things can be explained with coincidences.

…

"Adam, are you crazy?" Sandy says, putting down her sandwich. "Too many people have died. We're not going back in there."

"Yeah, Adam." Says Fred. "A true warrior knows the right time to give up. You're family has taken a massive hit from The Renaissance Man… It's time to back off."

"But that…" I seethe. "Would be giving him what he wants. We have to kill him at all costs. Once he controls enough people… Who knows how many innocents will die? We can't just let this happen."

"Adam." Kim rests a hand on my shoulder. "I'm worried for the safety of my family now. Call me afraid, but I'm not going in there."

"I second that. Adam, please… You don't know what you're getting yourself into." Fred says.

"I'm going into Polybius, and nobody can change that." I resolve. "I've got nothing to lose."  
"No, Adam, you don't." Sandy says, angry. "You still have a remnant of a life. You've got food, water. You've got your own living spirit. So please, Adam, for the love of god, don't-" Sandy reaches towards me to rest a hand on my shoulder.

I slap her friendly gesture away. "Imbeciles." I seethe. "I'll do it myself."

The group backs away, worry in their eyes.

"I'll kill him by myself."


End file.
